A Little Too Deep
by Blackguard83
Summary: What would have happened if Severus Snape snapped and used a proper Sectumsempra on the day of his worst memory? The day of the worst memory for all of them.
1. Chapter 1

"Septumscepra!" – Avery yelled at the top of his lungs and made a slashing movement with his wand at the poor animal. Fortunately for the black half-kneazle in a cage his efforts produced no harmful effect. However this fact didn't prevent it from hissing at offender with malice in its feline eyes. Furry animal was just damn too smart.

"I am telling you. It was – Sceptumspectra!" – Mulciber attempted the same feat but miserably failed in a similar fashion as his Slytherin buddy.

"Maybe it was Snapetumsempra?" – Another student carefully proposed, but didn't try to perform the spell himself, which only earned him multiple glares from a small crowd of senior students assembled in Slytherin common room.

"Seriously, Goyle... Snapetum...? – Avery replied with a mocking tone. – "How stupid can you possibly be?"

"Hey watch your tongue!" – Goyle threatened the offending fifth year. He was in the last year himself and wouldn't such behaviour from a junior student.

"Enough!" – Lucius Malfoy snapped in commanding voice effectively preventing a pointless argument and potential fight. It was getting tiresome. – "Are you sure it wasn't Sectumsempra instead?" – he directed his question at Carrow who was the only one of them on the site of incident and observed the spell. – "It is the only one which makes any sense in Latin." – Lucius explained. Contrary to anyone else in the room Lucius could actually write and even fluently speak in the dead language, thanks to his father and his idea of superior Malfoy education inflicted on him.

"Yes I am pretty sure it is" – Carrow confirmed, he had his doubts at first but hearing it again from Malfoy this time dissipated them. – "And then Snape slashed with his wand like this" – he demonstrated for everyone else's benefit again. – "You should have seen Potter's face. It was such a bloody mess" – he said with grudging respect in his voice. Several junior Slytherins who saw Potter, being levitated on his way to Hospital wing nodded with confirmation and causing senior Slytherins to exchange meaningful looks again and the rest to engage in intense whispering. If Potter didn't make it this new curse could have a BIG potential in the future years to come.

"Okay let me try it again." - Lucius demanded total silence and more space around him, effectively hushing all whispers and drawing everyone's attention to him. Everyone took a deep breath and only kneazle's furious hissing was still audible in the common room

"Sectumsempra!" – Lucious said in dramatic manner and made a vicious slash at the caged animal. Nothing happened and silence reigned in the common room for several pregnant moments even Kneazle stopped hissing.

"Damn it" – Avery cursed silently.

"Yeah" – Mulciber agreed – "It was so much easier to rip off Levicorpus" – he said for Lucius benefit trying to spare him some embarrassment.

"Lucius Malfoy, let the poor animal go!" – the demanding feminine voice announced to everyone that Slytherin princess made an entrance. Lucius turned around to face his pissed off fiancée and didn't fail to notice teary-eyed first year Slytherin girl hiding behind her for protection. – "When I told you last week to train on cats, I didn't mean it literally". – she informed him with stern face. Everyone exchanged confused looks and questioningly looked at Lucius who understood the jab and now openly scowled.

"Not funny, Narcissa" – he replied with indignation and blushed a little if that was even possible. He still couldn't believe that his future wife had such a twisted sense of humour. He still couldn't get over her reply after he proposed his fiancée to "consummate" their engagement before marriage.

"Let the poor animal go" – Narcissa demanded again only this time from Amycus Carrow, who turned to Lucius for instructions. Malfoy gave him a barely noticeable nod and Amycus opened the cage and set the kneazle in question free. The animal gave him one final hiss, which promised revenge and then not wasting a moment ran to his little sister, who happily picked him up and showed her brother a tongue.

And least one story finished with happy ending that dreadful day, since James Potter was still fighting for his life in hospital wing, while Severus Snape was trying to cheat expulsion in Headmaster's office.


	2. Chapter 2

Severus Snape wasn't the bravest wizard in the world. Forty years from now in another time-line, certain Harry Potter would have said to his son that him, Severus Snape was probably the bravest man he had ever known. Alas this would never come to pass now. Severus Snape was intelligent, smart and some, who were able to look past their prejudice, would have even called him brilliant. But he wasn't brave. Fortunately, who you are, is not necessary who you may become. In some individuals bravery could be nurtured and taught. However unfortunately for him this was now and after adrenalin was out of his system he was scared out of his mind. This was the reason why he didn't notice the fear in the eyes of several professors present in the office of Headmaster, this was why he didn't notice a deeply disturbed and worried expression on the normally unfazed face of Hogwarts Headmaster.

If only he had bothered to invent the counter-curse, he could have set everything right, Severus wished for the tenth time that day. Dumbledore, being a skilled legilimens didn't even need to probe the head of the boy in order to pick up that particular thought and that was the main reason why the frown on his face dominated over carefully concealed anger. At first he had planned to simply expel the boy and be done with it, after he found out precisely what curse was inflicted on James Potter, of course. Madam Pomphrey still needed to properly heal poor Gryffindor. But this little piece of information changed everything.

"Was the spell of your own invention, Mr. Snape?" – he carefully tried to direct conversation to the subject of counter curse, without being too obvious.

Severus Snape, surprised that headmaster already knew about it and still didn't expel him, composed himself a bit and laconically answered with a shaky voice:

"Yes, sir."

Fear still had a firm grip over him so he completely failed to notice how Professors McGonagall and Slughorn exchanged a meaningful look.

"I trust you have also invented the counter curse, boy?" – Dumbledore pretended his didn't know the answer already and was even a little amused by the irony of it all, when Severus lowered his head and shoulders in defeat, preparing for worse:

"No, sir."

Dumbledore looked with a grave expression upon his student who didn't even dare to face his eyes, and wanted to ask him:

'Do you realize what you have just done, young man? Do you realize that without a counter-curse Sectumsempra is even worse than unforgivable, since it doesn't even require a bloody intent? Do you realize that it would take me years to invent counter-curse myself? Years, that we don't have. Do you realize that if I expel you from Hogwarts and leave you to your own devices, you will be in Voldermort's clutches faster than you can say 'Dark Mark'?' – instead he has said this:

"Mr. Snape, I will grant you a second chance and allow you to redeem yourself by cleaning the mess you have created. You will be suspended for the maximum period of two weeks." – Severus lifted his head and looked at Headmaster with utter shock and disbelief. Dumbledore realized next part will be crucial and summoned as much intimidation into his voice as he could master:

"If you fail to invent the counter curse by the end of this period you will be expelled from Hogwarts" – he lied, in fact he was going to expel him if he succeeded and handle him over to Alastor Moody for subsequent indoctrination and drilling in Auror's academy. Order of the Phoenix could use some talent in the upcoming war. – "Your head of the house will personally oversee your suspension and you will be isolated from the rest of student body. Now get to work ." – Dumbledore finally dismissed him.

"Thank you, sir" – Severus replied with confused expression on his face, finally able to think for the first time, since the fear has passed. What the hell has just happened? How did he manage to avoid his just punishment? He would spend countless nights thinking about it, but he was still too young to realize that maybe in the perfect world where everyone would have the same set of values and beliefs, maybe, just maybe everyone would get what they deserved, but in the world with Voldemort on the loose, trying to impose his own set of values and beliefs, good things sometimes happened to brilliant wizards, willing to spill some blood.


End file.
